Arm Listing Set to Be Turning Point for IPO Market, SoftBank

(Bloomberg) -- Arm Ltd. is expected to unveil its filing for an initial public offering as soon as Monday, giving the market a peek at the chip designer’s financial health seven years after it was acquired by SoftBank Group Corp.

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The IPO, planned for September, is on track to be the year’s largest and could be one of the biggest tech listings ever on a US exchange. While Bloomberg News reported Arm was aiming to be valued at $60 billion to $70 billion in an IPO raising $8 billion to $10 billion, that target could be lower since SoftBank has decided to hold onto more of the company after buying Vision Fund’s stake in it.

Arm won’t have to disclose the proposed size and price of the share sale until later filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The listing is set to be the largest in the US since electric-vehicle maker Rivian Automotive Inc.’s $13.7 billion offering in November 2021. An all-time high of $339 billion was raised in more than 1,000 IPOs that year before the window for new major listings was all but closed.

Arm’s debut could spur dozens of startups such as online grocery delivery company Instacart Inc. and marketing and data automation provider Klaviyo to follow through — or further delay — their own IPO plans.

Read more: Instacart Said to Plan for September IPO

It’s also the latest twist for Arm, which had a deal to be acquired by Nvidia Corp. that was called off last year after opposition from customers and regulators. The listing may lead to a payday for SoftBank, which is looking for a win after an expansion into startup investing that went awry. SoftBank isn’t ready to part ways with Arm just yet though, and will float only about 10% of the company’s stock, Bloomberg News has reported.